Storm Warning
by JavaMasta
Summary: Bella and Edward are both finishing the same graduate program, and have been friends for 5 years. During a particularly difficult week in April, Bella finds out the truth about Edward. Three-chapter fic written for Fandom4StormRelief. AU
1. Chapter 1

_**For those of you who don't know, I consider Tuscaloosa, AL my "second home town." On April 27, 2011, the city was struck by a large wedge tornado, classified as EF4, killing an estimated 43 people within the city limits before making its way NE to Birmingham. The path length of this violent tornado was 80.3 miles (129.2 km) with a maximum damage path width of 1.5 miles (2.4 km). **_

_**This story was written for Fandom4StormRelief.**_

_**I hope you enjoy the story!**_

_**DISCLAIMER: All recognizable characters in this story are the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended.**_

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><p><em><strong>CHAPTER 1<strong>_

"THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH UNTIL 10:00PM FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES …"

Bella sighed as she taped yet another box closed. Like most of the inhabitants of this town, she had her TV tuned to the Weather Channel. It had been like this for two days. The tornado sirens were going all night, the latest at 5:30 this morning. Fortunately the power was still on, a miracle for which she was extremely grateful. Marathon packing in 95-degree weather would be miserable without air conditioning.

She glanced at the microwave clock as she poured her second cup of coffee. 6:45am. The current severe thunderstorm warning would be over in fifteen minutes, and Bella could already hear the rumbling fading away. Thank goodness she had a garage, or her ancient red pickup would have been hammered by the rounds of quarter-sized hail that pounded her house on and off throughout the night.

Staring at the dripping dogwood outside her kitchen window, Bella thought about the last five years she'd spent in this tiny house. She would miss it, as well as her familiar graduate student life here. Most of all, she would miss the four very dear friends who she considered family. She couldn't help smiling when she thought of them – lively Lily, macho-man Ricardo, sensitive Manoj…and Edward. Bella absolutely hated good-byes.

Her smile turned rueful. A vision of Edward's warm amber eyes and perfect smile floated before her. He was sweet, charming, handsome, incredibly intelligent… In fact, he was perfect. Way too perfect to be interested in anything other than friendship from her mousy self. And he was definitely a friend, a very good friend. The thought of not seeing Edward again caused her physical pain.

The sound of the doorbell startled her out of her reverie, making her splash her coffee down the front of her white tank top.

"Damn," she muttered to herself, ineffectively dabbing at the offending stain. "Who the heck would be showing up at this hour?"

The doorbell rang again. "All right, all right. I'm coming!"

She glanced through the front window and spotted a familiar silver Volvo in the driveway. Her heart leapt. What was _he_ doing here? She hastily rewrapped her untidy ponytail as she hurried to the door. Flinging it open, she smiled happily at the tall, handsome man standing there. The wind had whipped his tousled bronze hair into even further disarray, and Bella squashed the urge to brush it out of his eyes. They seemed lighter than usual today. Probably a trick of the strange morning light.

"Edward!"

The man before her grinned. "Hey Beautiful. I heard…saw your lights on as I drove by, so I thought I'd come early to help you pack." When Bella didn't respond, the grin faded somewhat. "I hope that's alright with you. I should have called. If you'd like me to come back later…"

"No!" She flushed. Where was her head this morning? "I mean, please come in. I'm really glad to see you."

She opened the door wider, allowing him to step inside and quickly remove his wet shoes. The hems of his perfectly-fitting jeans were also damp, but he didn't seem to care. Bella led the way to the kitchen, feeling self-conscious of the old floppy sport shorts she was wearing. She hoped they were long enough in the back.

"What are you doing up so early?" she inquired conversationally, indicating for him to sit on the barstool across the counter from her.

Edward slid gracefully onto the seat and propped his elbows on the counter. Damn, why did he have to look like a model, even in just a plain blue untucked t-shirt and jeans? Still, he seemed at home in Bella's tiny white kitchen. _Being there at least once per week for nearly five years would do that_, she thought wryly.

He smirked, as if he were enjoying some secret joke. "I couldn't sleep. I'm surprised to see you awake, though. You're not exactly a morning person."

Bella chuckled, recalling the number of times that Lily, her best friend and former housemate, literally dragged her out of bed so that she wouldn't be late for an 8:00am class. "Yeah, no kidding. I wouldn't be, if it weren't for those storms last night."

A look of concern crossed her friend's face. "They're going to continue all day, and you're supposed to be moved out of here by tomorrow morning." He looked around him at the empty kitchen and living room.

"I see your furniture is already gone, and everything is off the walls."

Bella nodded. "Lily moved out a couple of days ago, and we gave most of our furniture to a student who just arrived here. All that's left is my bed, dresser, desk, and side table. In fact…" Bella glanced at her watch. "Lily's probably almost back in Taiwan by now. "

"And into the waiting arms of her ever-patient fiancé," added Edward with a smile.

Bella returned the smile with an unconscious sigh. How she wished she, too, could find someone like Lily did. Of course, being besotted with the man across the counter didn't exactly help. No one could compare to him. Logically she knew that she didn't have him to start with, and therefore she wasn't being fair to any other men who may be interested. Not that there were any.

During her five years in grad school, Bella dated only one man. Her friends…well, most of them…Edward didn't seem to have an opinion…were embarrassingly excited when she started dating Mike Newton, a graduate student in a different department. She and Mike were together for over a year. In fact, he'd asked Bella to marry him. Bella felt terrible saying "no" to him. As much as her brain urged her to agree, in her heart she realized that she didn't want to spend the rest of her life with him. They parted ways almost a year ago, and now Mike was happily engaged to Jessica Stanley, another fellow grad student.

"Earth to Bella," teased Edward, playfully waving his hand in front of her eyes.

"Hmmm? Oh, sorry about that. I drifted off somewhere."

Edward shook his head. "The times I wish I could read your mind, Bella Swan…"

"Well, Edward Cullen, I'm very glad that you can't!" she retorted. "It's bad enough that you can read everyone else's."

They'd only known each other for a few months when Bella became suspicious of him. She noticed that, on rare occasions, he would react or respond to someone without them actually saying anything. One night when they all went out to dinner, she noted the uncomfortable expression on his face whenever the waitress looked at him. After the meal, Lily agreed to take Ricardo and Manoj grocery shopping, so Edward wound up taking Bella home.

"So," she'd asked him casually once they were on the road, "was that waitress undressing you in her mind?"

"Worse," he groaned. "She was…" He stopped short, casting her a startled glance. Bella returned his astounded expression with a knowing smile, her eyebrows raised inquiringly.

Edward sighed in resignation. "You are far too observant. You've figured it out, haven't you?"

"That you can read minds? Yes. But surely you knew that." Given how she already felt about him, the idea of him being able to read her thoughts made her cringe.

Edward pulled into the driveway of Bella's house and switched off the engine before responding. It was already night, and streetlight outside the house cast his pale face into sharp relief. "No, I didn't know, Bella. If I concentrate, I can read every mind within the general vicinity…except yours."

Relief flooded through her, followed by confusion. "So there's something wrong with my mind? I've always suspected as much, but to have it confirmed…"

Edward gave a startled laugh. "Bella, you never react as I'd expect you to. I tell you I can read minds, and you think there's something wrong with _you_? Why aren't you freaking out right now?"

Bella shrugged. "If you met my mother, you'd understand," she smiled. "She is into all things paranormal and extrasensory. I can't tell you how many tests she's tried with me. Reading cards placed against her forehead, trying to push a pencil with her mind, visions of the future, you name it. She would be overjoyed to meet an actual telepathic."

"Bella, you can't tell her." Edward regarded the dark-haired woman next to him intently. "The only people who know are my family. Don't tell anyone. Please?"

"Don't worry, Edward. I wasn't planning to, and I won't."

He exhaled with relief. "Thank you."

"So just like that?" she asked, surprised. "I say I won't tell anyone, and you trust me to keep my word?" She had been half afraid that he would do something to ensure her silence.

Edward considered her very seriously, his golden eyes capturing hers. "Bella, with the exception of my family, I trust you more than anyone I know."

She'd flushed at his confidence in her, hoping that the light was too bad for him to see her reddened face. She thought she'd seen his eyes darken, but back then she decided she imagined it.

"You're doing it again."

Edward's velvet voice brought her back to the present. "Oh, sorry. I was just thinking about the mind reading." To her annoyance, she was blushing again.

"I like it when you do that," her companion told her softly.

"Do what?"

"Blush."

"Oh." _Brilliant response, Swan_, she thought dryly. _Shakespeare, Yeats, and you_. _At least he seems as embarrassed as you for letting that slip out._

"So, Bella," he continued in a more normal voice, "What's the plan?"

"Pack everything as fast as possible, load up the pick-up, and try to get it all into the storage unit between hailstorms."

Edward rolled his eyes. "OK, show me what to do."

The morning passed quickly. Even with Edward there, the storms that came and went made her nervous. She couldn't help herself from looking anxiously out the windows at the tall pines that whipped back and forth in the angry wind. Bella insisted that Edward pull his Volvo into the garage next to her truk, just in case it got damaged.

By noon the kitchen was entirely boxed up, and Bella was packing her books in her bedroom while Edward deftly wrapped her paintings in the living room.

"Drat," she muttered to herself, struggling to squeeze the last one closed. Whenever she had the tape reel ready, the lid slipped from her hands. A certain painful memory of the tape blade slicing her finger persuaded her to call for reinforcements. "Edward! Would you come help me with this, please?"

He appeared by her side so fast that she jumped. "What do you want me to do?"

Recovering quickly, Bella instructed him to squeeze the box closed while she stuck down the tape. As she maneuvered around him, her hand brushed against his, sending a strange warm current up her arm. It had happened before, but never this strongly. She raised startled brown eyes to his. Their heads were so close that his chin almost brushed the top of her hair. His expression was carefully noncommittal.

"Thanks," she muttered self-consciously, smoothing the tape with more haste than care. _This isn't good_, she thought. _I'm much too aware of him._ She hoped he wasn't able to discern the depth of her feelings. That could prove uncomfortable for both of them.

"No problem," he smiled. "Why don't I start loading the truck while you finish here? From the Weather Channel radar it looks like we may have a short break from the rain."

Bella nodded. "Be careful. Don't over-exert yourself." In spite of his lean, muscular build, she knew that Edward's overly-pale complexion was due to anemia. In fact, he often looked tired, purple smudges forming under his eyes. She worried that carrying too many heavy objects would tax his strength. Of course he would never admit to any weakness, and on the rare occasions when she brought it up, he just brushed it aside.

She rapidly packed her two suitcases and dragged them into the kitchen. To her amazement, she found both the kitchen and living room empty, and Edward perched cheerfully on the counter, swinging his legs and grinning at her.

"How…?" Bella's head swung around comically. "Where are all the boxes?"

Her friend watched her teasingly. "In the truck, of course."

Floored was an understatement. "But…but…that would have taken me at least half an hour! It's only been 15 minutes, and you've not even broken a sweat."

He shrugged. "It's not my fault that you're inefficient," he teased, gracefully leapt to the floor. "Come on, let's go before the next round arrives."

Bella drove as fast as she dared with her ancient, weighed-down truck. Poor Edward was squashed into the passenger seat, one box under his feet, another in his lap, and a third between him and Bella. Of course, it wasn't air conditioned, and the breeze was warm and moist.

The 20-minute drive seemed to take forever, especially with Bella being hyperaware of the man sitting next to her. Stupid nerves. With relief she punched in the gate code and drove down the alleys to her storage unit. Other than giving a dramatic groan as he unfolded his lanky six-foot-two frame, Edward didn't complain.

Bella quickly jumped out and unlocked her unit, sliding the protesting overhead door up. At least it was clean and, thankfully, dry. Edward was already unlatching the tailgate of her pick-up and hauling boxes out.

"Any plan for where these go?" he inquired, hefting an 80-pound load of books as if it weighed nothing. She shook her head, amazed. Although he had well-defined muscles, he didn't _look_ that strong, especially as he was supposed to be somewhat frail health-wise. Anemia, tons of food allergies… For a moment she watched his muscles move beneath his shirt as he lifted and carried her boxes. He did have a nice build…_Oh, I guess I should be helping him!_

After ten minutes, Bella paused to brush her hair off her damp forehead. She could already feel her tank top beginning to stick to her back, and fluffed it from behind to cool down a bit. Meanwhile, Edward was working steadily, humming to himself.

"How come you're not all hot and sweaty?" she demanded, slightly disgruntled that he still looked like he stepped out of a photo shoot.

To her surprise, he shot her a wicked look. "Oh? Do you want me that way?"

Good thing her face was already red from heat and exertion. Where did _that_ comment come from? She was so astounded that prim, sedate Edward even said something like that, that she was rendered temporarily speechless. She stood behind her truck, gaping at him. His grin widened, knowing that he got her.

"Let's just get these inside," she grumbled at least. She hated it when he won. "The sky looks like it's going to burst at any moment."

Suddenly, they heard the gate open and the sound of a car tearing down the adjacent alley. "He's in a hurry," commented Edward dryly. "He'd better watch… SHIT!"

Bella watched in horror as a black sports car with its radio blaring barreled around the corner, heading straight for the back of her truck…and her. Before she could blink, Bella found herself airborne. She heard the squeal of brakes, followed by the crunch of the vehicles colliding. She screamed, her eyes squeezed shut.

"Shh! Bella, it's alright," Edward's soft voice spoke in her ear. She opened her eyes to find herself lying on her side on the ground, held in the protective cage of his arms. Her friend's worried amber eyes were inches from hers, and she could only stare at him in shock.

"Are you OK?" he asked, his beautiful voice strained.

She nodded dumbly. They'd flown through the air, landing somewhere in front of her pickup on the opposite side of the alley. Yet she was barely jostled.

"How did you…?"

He sighed. "I'll explain later."

"Hey, are you guys OK over there?" The driver of the sports car, a twenty-something man in a black printed t-shirt, baggy shorts, and a backwards baseball cap, peered dazedly at them. He weaved his way over to them as Edward helped Bella stand.

"Sorry guys, I didn't see your truck there."

Bella could have sworn she heard Edward growl. He was still holding her against his side with one arm. A good thing, too. Now that the danger had passed, Bella could feel her tongue going numb and her legs beginning to buckle under her. _Get a grip_, she scolded herself.

The man bent to inspect the front of his car. "Not too bad," he commented, pulling the dangling front bumper the rest of the way off. "It looks much better than last time. And see? Not even a dent on your truck. They really built those things in the 50's. I thought your tailgate was down earlier, though."

"Imbecile," uttered Edward angrily. "You almost killed her!"

Bella could feel the tension in her friend's body. Glancing up, she was surprised to see that his eyes were nearly black. The muscle in his jaw was working as he fought to keep his temper in check. She'd only seen him angry once before, and it was a scary sight.

"Sorry man, I was trying to get my stuff before the storm got here. Hey, I'll tell you what. 'Cause there's no damage to your truck, why don't we just forget it?"

"WHAT?" Edward exploded. "You think you can almost kill someone, and just…"

Bella laid her hand on his chest to calm him down. _Why was his chest so cool_, she wondered distractedly. Edward was so angry that his teeth were bared. The man took a step backward, instinctively knowing he was in serious trouble.

"Edward, let it go. Please?"

He glanced down at the woman next to him, and his expression relaxed slightly. When he turned his gaze back to the man, the deceptively calm, quiet tone of his voice made Bella shiver. He'd defended her a few times over the years, usually over minor things. She'd never heard him sound so…deadly.

"You are going to drive _carefully_ to your unit, get your TV, and walk around this area, not bothering anyone, for the next fifty minutes. If I ever find that you smoked marijuana before driving again, you will be sorry."

"Who the f…?" the man started to yell, but he stopped abruptly when he saw Edward's face. His eyes grew round, and he began backing toward his car. "OK man. No harm done, right? Yeah, I'll just get back in here…"

Edward's steely gaze didn't waver as the man scrambled into his car, slowly reversed out of the alley, and drove off. Bella heard him drive around for a short time, then stop, get out of the car, and open what presumably was his own storage unit.

She looked up and met the now concerned amber eyes of her friend. _Do I really even know this man? _she wondered_. I thought I did, but now I'm not so sure_.

"How are you feeling?" asked Edward, searching her face. "You're not shaking as much as before."

"How did you do that? One moment we were behind my truck, and the next you were leaping over it, carrying a 110-pound woman. You probably saved my life, or at the very least my legs."

"Adrenaline rush," he responded shortly, releasing her. She frowned, missing the feel of his cool arm around her. _Well, at least you got to experience it once before he disappeared from your life_, her logical self reasoned. However, she didn't miss his gaze flickering down to her legs.

"You're welcome," he added with a crooked smile.

She wasn't buying it. It was something more than an adrenaline rush. She opened her mouth to argue when a bolt of lightning lit the sky to the southwest.

"We'd better hurry," he interrupted her. "That storm will be here soon." It was already starting to get darker, and the wind was picking up again. Edward grabbed three stacked boxes, carrying them easily into the small storage unit. Those must weigh almost 180 pounds, she thought, and he treats them as if they were full of feathers. Definitely more than an adrenaline rush.

She was hauling a case of kitchen utensils from the back of the truck when Edward suddenly took it from her hands.

"Bella," he said gently, "I would feel better if you sat in the truck while I finished this. You could still be going into shock." She wanted to protest, but then he bent until his face was level with hers. "Please?"

Damn, she never could resist that pleading face. He knew it too, the cheater. She nodded reluctantly, earning a huge, adorable grin.

It was beginning to rain. From the cab of the truck, he seemed to blur through the drops racing down the side window. In a surprisingly short time Edward was locking the storage unit and climbing into the truck bed. He grabbed a towel that Bella always kept in the storage box there and pulled open the driver side door.

"Scoot over," he instructed her. She moved to the passenger seat as he quickly laid the towel over the seat and got in. The rain has plastered his riotous bronze hair to his head, and there was mud on the back of his shirt from when he'd rolled to get her out of the way of the black sports car.

"I wonder if Dudesicle is still here," she commented as Edward expertly backed the truck out of the alley.

Her companion grinned. "He is. He's in his car, hoping that I'm not going to check on him."

Rain, mixed with light hail, was coming down in buckets as they drove back to Bella's house. How Edward could see through the windshield she had no idea. Visibility was practically zero. They both sighed with relief when they were safely inside the garage once more.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Wow, there are actually people reading this! Thank you!  
><em>**

**_DISCLAIMER: All recognizable characters in this story are the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended._**

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><p><em><strong>CHAPTER 2<br>**_

"Do you have any food left in the house?" asked Edward as they entered walked through the garage door into the kitchen.

"I kept some bread, cheese, and salad," responded Bella. "Oh, and of course…" she opened a cabinet with a flourish, "these!"

Her friend groaned. Pop-tarts. "How can you eat those things?"

"Easy. Watch!" She grinned, zipped open a packet, and took a hearty bite. "Want some?" Bella inquired, her mouth full of pastry.

Edward pulled a comical grimace. "No thanks."

Swallowing quickly, she wondered if she should offer her friend anything to eat.

"Can I make you a sandwich?"

"No thank you. I had a big breakfast. You should eat, though. Something better than Pop-tarts!"

_Yeah, that's what I thought. He rarely eats with the rest of us._

A loud beeping from the television drew their attention.

"THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH…

EFFECTIVE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 1:45 pm UNTIL 10:00 pm CDT

…THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION…

DESTRUCTIVE TORNADOES…LARGE HAIL TO 4 INCHES IN DIAMETER…  
>THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 80 MPH…AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE."<p>

They looked at each other, worried. Edward was frowning.

"How much is left to move?"

"Only my bedroom suite." Bella led the way to her room, still munching the Pop-tart. She pointed out the bed, dresser, desk, and nightstand that her mother gave her. They were antique, probably originally cream-coloured, but the aging shellac developed a beautiful golden patina. Bella's grandmother had carefully painted roses and gerbera daisies on each piece in oils, and signed the dresser.

"You love old things, don't you?" commented Edward thoughtfully.

Bella nodded. "This furniture has history and character. You don't find that with the new stuff."

"That's why you love that old Chevy truck, too." It was a statement, not a question.

She grinned. "You know me well. I'm all about old things with personality."

"Good to know," he smiled. "So that's it?"

"Yup. Then some vacuuming and cleaning, and bye-bye house." She gazed around sadly at this place that had been her home for the past five years. "I'm going to miss it. I can't believe this phase of our lives is ending."

Her chocolate eyes came to rest on the beautiful face of the man in front of her. "Most importantly, I'm going to miss my friends."

The next thing she knew, she was folded gently against Edward's chest. He'd never been this demonstrative with her before. She liked it. In fact, she didn't even care that his t-shirt was still wet and cold. The tingling sensation she felt earlier when he touched her was back, and it felt wonderful. _Enjoy it while it lasts, Swan_, she told herself.

"Perhaps," he was saying, the vibration of his chest tickling her cheek, "we'll have a reunion…soon. Besides, with Skype, we can see and talk to each other whenever we want."

Bella knew better. They would all become wrapped up in their new lives. Edward would be off teaching or doing research somewhere, probably finding himself someone to marry and start a family with. A man like him deserved someone he loved, someone beautiful who loved him back and could make him happy for the rest of his life.

"Bella? Are you alright?" He released her and stepped back, studying her face seriously.

She nodded rapidly, willing it to be true. She was being silly. "I'm fine."

Clearly he didn't believe her. The crease between his eyebrows remained.

"Where are you staying tonight?"

"I'll be living with Patsy in her trailer for the next month or so, until the apartment in Portland is ready." Patsy was the department secretary, a cheerful elderly woman whom everyone liked.

Edward's frown deepened. "Did you call her? She'd probably staying with her sister in this weather. She always does, you know."

"Damn, I forgot about that." Bella performed some rapid financial calculations. If she were careful, she might just have enough money for a night or two at one of the cheap local motels.

"You're thinking of spending the night at a hotel, aren't you?"

"I thought you couldn't read my mind!" she protested.

Edward smiled wryly. "I don't have to. It's written all over your face."

"Well, for tonight I can just camp out here. The carpet is definitely soft enough."

"When the utilities are being shut off in the early morning? No, you're staying at my place."

Bella gaped at him. "What?" _Yeah, right. Spending the night with the guy she'd had a crush on for nearly five years. Alone with him in his one-bedroom apartment. THAT didn't sound like a recipe for disaster._ Of course, there were several nights when she had been there, just talking with him for hours, sipping the green tea he made her. She'd even fallen asleep there a couple of times, and woken up the next morning to find that he'd slept on the sofa while she took his bed. Always the gentleman. _Pity he wasn't always a gentleman_, her emotional self commented sarcastically. _Oh, shut up_, retorted Logical Self.

"Edward, I'll be fine here."

He looked like he wanted to argue the point, but more thunder rumbling reminded him that they had a task to complete. After a glance out the window, he turned back to Bella. There was an oddly pleading expression on his face.

"Bella, there is a lot we need to talk about. You are far more perceptive than the average hu…person, so you already know that I'm not…normal…" He smiled wryly at her emphatic nod. "I'm going to ask you to trust me, and let me do this my way. Please?"

Damn, there was that look that dazzled her…again. "That's not fair, Edward," she protested. "You know I can't resist when you say 'please' like that."

She fought the smile that was trying to break free, and lost. Edward returned her grin. "I know. I was counting on it."

Then grin faded somewhat. "Now, I'm going to put your bedroom furniture into the truck and take it to your storage unit. Then I'll return your truck, get my car to run some errands, and be back around 5:00. Is that OK with you?"

Bella nodded, wondering how on earth he was going to do all of that in less than three hours. But then, today seemed surreal anyway. She was beginning to doubt her own reality.

She followed him into her almost-empty bedroom. Edward regarded the dresser speculatively.

"We'll have to take the drawers out so that it's not so heavy," she advised, reaching to tug at one of the handles.

Edward shook his head. "No, it's fine. Do you have something to strap them closed?"

Bella ran to get some cotton rope, which her friend speedily tied around the dresser. He bent and wrapped his elegant hands around the base of the dresser and easily lifted it against his body.

"Would you mind opening the door to the garage?" he inquired, as if nothing unusual was happening. Bella dashed ahead of him, too stunned to do anything else but comply with his request. Edward raised the entire dresser over the side of Bella's truck, settling it gently into the bed.

"Why don't you start on the kitchen cleaning while I take care of the rest of this?" he suggested. Edward was studying her face as he re-entered the kitchen.

"Too much?" he added sympathetically.

"I keep thinking this is some sort of dream, and I'll wake up in a few minutes with a houseload of packing to do," admitted Bella. "Or maybe I'm hallucinating."

Edward stood less than two feet away, his familiar honey and spice scent drifting over her. Although his lips curved into a wistful smile, his golden eyes were oddly sad.

"You're neither dreaming nor hallucinating." He sighed, his hand lifting slightly toward her.

"I'm so sorry that you're finding out like this. It's a lot to take in at once." For a moment Bella thought he would touch her cheek, but then he seemed to change his mind and lowered his hand.

"How are you so strong, Edward?" asked Bella, finally finding her voice.

The rumble of thunder, closer this time, reminded them both of the task at hand. "I'll tell you as much as I can later tonight," he promised. "Right now, we need to beat that storm."

Reluctantly, Bella agreed that her friend was right. She returned to filling her bucket with water and floor cleaner, and began scrubbing. As much as she loved this kitchen, the white linoleum floor with its textured pattern took forever to clean properly. Meanwhile, Edward managed to move her entire bedroom suite in about five minutes.

On the way out for his final trip, he reached into the pocket of his jeans, and tossed her his car keys. At her questioning look, he responded, "Just in case you need transportation while I'm gone."

She couldn't imagine any reason for needing to drive his precious car, but wisely didn't protest. With a grin and a quick wave, he was off to the storage unit.

Bella's mind worked furiously while she scrubbed. What was Edward? How was he so strong? She thought back over the other odd things about him that she now considered normal for him. The anemia, the extreme food allergies_, the mind-reading_. His eyes seemed to change color, especially when he was laboring under some intense emotion, like he was today when that guy almost crushed her. They were such an unusual color, too. They were beautiful. _He_ was beautiful, almost inhumanly so.

Inhumanly? Was he even human? _Now you're being ridiculous_, she scoffed to herself. _You've been listening to too much of Renee's nonsense._ Still, she wondered if perhaps there was a grain of truth in her mother's outlandish beliefs. Of course, Edward _was_ a telepath, so which other of Renee's beliefs were also reality?

She racked her brain, trying to recall some of the paranormal creatures her mother mentioned. Ghosts, extra-terrestrials…shape-shifters, chupacabras and other cryptids…What about witches? Other legendary creatures? Zombies, elves, wizards, vampires, sprites, angels, demons, jinn?

Superhero? Radio-active spiders? Exposure to radiation or some sort of toxin gave him superhuman strength and telepathic abilities?

Edward was also extremely intelligent. He seemed to have perfect recall. Some type of savant, perhaps?

Her head buzzed with possibilities, each one more unbelievable than the last. The theory about superhuman abilities brought on by some sort of accident or toxin was looking like a real possibility.

Bella suddenly paused, a horrible thought crossing her mind. Normal people with supernatural abilities tended to die young, didn't they? Was Edward going to die soon? Her heart constricted at the thought. It was one thing for him to drift away, but to lose him forever…She impatiently wiped the tears that filled her eyes. _This speculation is getting you nowhere_, she scolded herself.

The storm outside approached rapidly. The power flickered when a particularly strong bolt of lightning flashed, the almost simultaneous thunder shaking the house. Bella glanced out the window at the pounding rain and vicious wind. She hoped Edward wasn't driving in this.

Bella's mind whirled as she cleaned and vacuumed, completely losing track of the time. Finally convinced that the house was thoroughly clean, she switched off the vacuum with satisfaction. _There's no way that stingy landlord of mine can withhold my security deposit when the house looks this good_, she thought smugly. She wheeled the vacuum into the kitchen corner next to her suitcases, ready to load into her truck when Edward returned.

Where _was_ Edward? The clock on the built-in microwave showed that he had been gone almost two hours. He said he was just going to drop off the furniture and then come back. What if it was too heavy for him? What if that pothead came back with friends and attacked him? Visions of him lying hurt in the storage unit assailed her. _You could just call him_, she reminded herself dryly.

Bella picked up her cell phone, then hesitated. She didn't want to be the kind of woman who continually bugged a guy about his whereabouts. Well, if Edward thought that, he didn't know her very well. She dialed his number.

"You have reached 555-4328. Please leave a message…" _Drat._ She hung up, knowing he would see her number on the caller ID. A moment later a distant tornado siren began wailing. Before the first ended, another two started. _Oh no, not again_.

She glanced at the small TV that now sat all alone on the living room carpet. The Weather Channel wasn't saying anything specific yet. She ran to get her laptop from her bedroom floor, logged into the local station's weather site, and scanned the alerts. Whew, she thought with relief, it's for the counties north of her. But Edward was going north. She pulled up the current map and noticed that there were seven tornadoes reported on the ground within a 20-mile radius. _Seven_? What was happening? Now she was really starting to worry. Edward had been gone too long, and he wasn't answering his phone. He shouldn't be out on the roads. What if he…

At that moment the garage door opened, and Edward stepped in. Without stopping to think, she launched herself at him.

"Whoa!" he laughed, catching her and hugging her back. "What brought this on? Not that I'm complaining."

He smiled down into Bella's anxious chocolate eyes, gently brushing a strand of hair from her forehead. She noticed that he'd changed his clothes, and was now in a gray t-shirt and clean jeans. His unruly bronze hair was still slightly damp, as if he'd just toweled it dry. Bella couldn't resist breathing in his scent. Honey and spice, it was comforting and characteristically Edward.

Edward frowned slightly. "What's wrong? Are you frightened?"

Now that he was here, Bella wild imaginings seemed silly. Both those about something horrible happening to him, and him not being human.

"No," she admitted. "When you were gone so long, and then didn't answer your phone, I thought…"

"That I wasn't coming back?"

Bella nodded into his shirtfront. It felt good to be here. "Something like that," she mumbled.

"Bella, I'll always come back," he assured her softly. "I don't think I can stay away."

The last was said so quietly that Bella thought she misheard. He couldn't have meant that he didn't want to stay away from her. Edward felt only friendship for her. _Must be my overwrought nerves_, she decided.

He released her, and she stepped away, embarrassed to have flung herself at him like that.

"I'm sorry to have taken so long. I went home to shower, change, and…get something to eat," he explained. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his phone.

"Battery's dead," he grimaced. "Bella, I'm so sorry I worried you. I should have been paying closer attention, particularly in this weather."

Then his face brightened. "I'll make it up to you. Why don't you go have a shower and change, and I'll cook for you."

"You don't have to do that," she protested. "You've done so much already." A shower, however, sounded wonderful. "I will go get cleaned up, though…"

Her cell phone suddenly rang – Ricardo's ringtone. "As soon as I answer that," she added with a grin.

"BELLY!" Ricardo's pleasantly accented voice announced.

"Ricky!" she teased back, grinning as his nickname for her.

"How's the moving going? Do you need any help?"

"My friend, as usual your timing is impeccable. It's all done already, thanks to Edward." She shot a smile at the bronze-haired Adonis perched on her counter. Bella knew that Edward had extremely acute hearing, and heard everything Ricardo said.

"Edward? Is he there? He hasn't been picking up his phone."

"Battery's dead," she explained dryly. "I discovered the same thing."

"Hey, listen…this weather is insane. There have been almost 100 tornados spotted in our area today, and from the radar it looks like there's another supercell forming near us. Manoj is over here with me, because my apartment is partially underground and his is on the third floor. So Edward's staying with you tonight?"

Bella heard Manoj's "Whoo-HOOO! Finally!" in the background, and flushed bright red. Any hope that Edward didn't hear him disappeared when she saw his teasing grin. Time to take the phone into the other room.

The was a slight skirmish on the other end of the line, then Manoj's triumphant voice came across.

"So any improvements?" he inquired. Bella grimaced. Manoj and Lily were always trying to convince her that Edward wanted more than friendship with her. Ever hopeful, they couldn't get it through their heads that god-like creatures like Edward simply weren't interested in plain, unexciting women like herself.

"Manoj, just because you're getting married in India next month doesn't mean that the rest of us have to follow suit," she retorted, amusement coloring her voice. "Work on Ricardo instead. He must have ten women wanting to marry him."

"It kills me to watch you two dance around each other." Manoj's voice dropped. "I've seen how he watches you when you're not looking, and vice-versa. You're in love with him, and he far from indifferent to you, too."

_Oh no, we're not going down that path again_. She walked back to the kitchen. Edward was inspecting the minimal contents of the refrigerator. "I'm going to put you over to Edward. You can grill him for a while."

Her friend's head shot up. "No!" he whispered, holding up his hands and shaking his head vehemently.

"Here he is now." With a wicked grin, she handed her phone to Edward.

"You're going to pay for this," he growled softly. Bella merely stuck out her tongue, grabbed her toiletry bag and some fresh clothes from her suitcase, and zipped to the shower.

After giving herself a good cleaning, she stood for a long time under the cooling running water, letting herself relax. With the intense weather, frantic packing, and saying good-bye to her best friend, Bella's nerves were stretched tight. She had no idea how long she'd been there when the lights suddenly went out and she was left in total darkness.

Bella hastily switched off the shower and blindly reached for her towel. Now that the water was off she could hear the tornado siren blaring through the wind-whipped rain.

"Bella!" Edward's voice called anxiously. "Are you alright? I'm going to open the bathroom door."

_WHAT_? "I'm fine!" she called back, rapidly scrubbing her hair and body. "Don't come in!"

The door popped open slightly. "I'm just cracking it a bit so that you have some light," Edward's calm voice wafted toward her.

Another siren sounded, closer this time. Outside, she could hear the wind blowing the neighbor's aluminum trash cans. Not caring that she was still slightly damp, Bella scrambled to put on her underwear, followed by clean shorts and a blue tank top. Grabbing socks and the rest of her toiletries, she hurried out of the bathroom. Unlike in some states, here a tornado siren meant that a tornado had actually been sighted…near her house.

It was almost as dark as night. Bella inhaled sharply at the sight through the window. The sky was nearly black, and quarter-sized hail pounded down. The pine trees were whipping around like windsocks. The next flash of lightning was so bright that she jumped back from the window.

"Edward?"

Her friend ran lightly up the basement stairs. "Let's go down. All of your things are already there."

It was true. While she was in the shower, Edward moved her suitcases, vacuum, TV and laptop to the corner of the unfinished, empty basement. In the northeast corner, away from the window well, he'd laid the blanket that he usually kept in his car. Bella's flashlight, left in the basement from the previous night, shone upward at the silver trunking. It cast a pale white glow on the scene. The battery-powered radio, left behind by Lily, was switched on. He'd also placed a grilled cheese sandwich and salad there for her to eat.

"Edward, this is…" She was at a loss for words. "Thank you."

"Eat quickly," he instructed her, sitting down at one corner of the blanket. He was frowning, listening to the thoughts of some of Bella's neighbors.

"The woman next door is looking at her iPhone," he elaborated, seeing her questioning look. "The radar doesn't look pretty. The stormcell Ricardo mentioned spawned a tornado."

Bella obediently chewed, hoping that she would be able to swallow. The beeping of the weather radio attracted their attention.

"A LARGE AND VIOLENT TORNADO IS APPROACHING THE METRO AREA. THIS TORNADO IS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 55 MPH.

AT 4:47 CDT ON APRIL 27 2011

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BIRMINGHAM ISSUED A *TORNADO WARNING* FOR…  
>TUSCALOOSA COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA…* UNTIL 545 PM CDT<p>

TO REPEAT…A LARGE…EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND POTENTIALLY DEADLY  
>TORNADO IS ON THE GROUND. TO PROTECT YOUR LIFE…TAKE COVER NOW"<p>

The friends looked at each other anxiously. Bella took a deep breath. "We've done everything we can do. So now we just…"

"Wait." Although Edward maintained an easy, outward calm, Bella wasn't fooled. He was as tense as she was. She tried her best to distract him, talking about the assistant professorship she would be starting in two months in Eugene, Oregon.

"Did I ever mention that my parents live about six hours from Eugene?"

He was leaning back on his elbows, talking and watching Bella eat. For some reason she realized that her response to this fact was important.

"Do you visit them often?" she asked hopefully, trying to gauge if he meant he wanted to see her.

Edward grinned. "I definitely will be, especially if I take the post-doc position in Salem."

"Salem? That's only about an hour from Eugene!" _Whoops, too much enthusiasm there, Swan. He probably wants to start a new life, not have you hanging on_.

Her response seemed to please him. However, before he could say anything, Bella's cell phone rang.

"Hi Ricardo," she answered, directing an expressive eye-roll at Edward.

"Hey Bella. Edward's there too? Listen, can you put me on speaker? We need to talk with both of you." The phone connection was crackling badly. She could barely hear him.

"OK," she told him, setting the phone between herself and Edward. Bella and Edward exchanged meaningful glances. Ricardo was never this serious.

"Are you two safely in the basement?" began Ricardo.

"Yes," Bella answered. "I hope you're in an inside room."

"We're in the hallway. No worries. Listen, there's a deadly tornado heading straight for you. It's almost a mile wide. It already took about several apartment buildings near the Mall."

"Edward," interrupted Manoj urgently, "Do you speak Hindi?"

"Yes."

Bella looked at her friend in astonishment. Where did he learn Hindi, and how did Manoj know? She had no idea what they were saying, but judging by Edward's expression Manoj had struck a nerve. At one point Manoj became quite passionate, and he practically shouted what sounded like "rakshasa." In a quiet, grim tone, Edward responded "Haam, rakshasa."

"Well," sighed Ricardo into the deafening silence, "that was interesting. Guys, please be careful. If you can, let us know you're OK."

"Will do," Bella responded.

"It's getting very quiet here," interposed Edward. "We need to go."

"Oh God," murmured Ricardo.

Manoj hastily added, "Bella, it's important that you do what Edward tells you, no matter what. OK? And Edward…" he hesitated, "do whatever you need to protect our Bella."

"I will, Manu." Bella could have sworn he added, "With my life," but that sounded overly dramatic, so she dismissed it.

Bella closed the phone, listening to the eerie silence. "Is it over?" she asked. "The rain and hail seems to have stopped."

"No Bella," her friend contradicted quietly, "It's just beginning."

* * *

><p><strong>NOTE: The watches and warnings are based on the actual ones from the National Weather Service. If you live in an area that gets tornadoes or hurricanes, I'm sure you'll recognise the format. <strong>

**Now the REALLY exciting part comes. One more chapter to go! By the way (ahem!), I love reviews!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Wow, I can't believe how many wonderful reviews this is getting!**

**Here we have the final chapter. Perhaps I'll do an outtake from Manoj's point of view. I'll see how it goes. In the mean time, I hope you enjoy the rest of the story!**

**_DISCLAIMER: All characters are the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended._**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

Edward raced around the basement, fiddling with valves and the fuse box. "I'm shutting off the power and gas lines, just in case."

As he spoke, the wind suddenly increased to a roar. There was a tremendous crash upstairs that shook the entire house. Bella could feel the pressure build behind her eardrums.

"What's happ…"

"GET DOWN!" Edward ordered. Instantly she was on her stomach, with Edward over her, shielding her body. Bella heard the windows shatter and the light bulbs in the basement explode. The roar got louder. _It really is like a freight train_, she thought in panic.

"Shh!" Edward's voice sounded in her ear. "I'm here. It'll be over soon." It was only then that she realized that she'd screamed his name.

Bella had no idea how long they stayed like this. Eventually the sound of the tornado receded, leaving only the pounding of her heart in her ears and the feel of Edward's cool breath against her temple. No rain, no hail, just her and her friend. A few moments later she detected the distant wail of ambulances and fire trucks, and her neighbors' dogs barking.

"Edward?" He didn't respond. "Are you OK?"

"I will be." Edward rolled away from her onto his back. The flashlight had gone out, but in the dim light through the shattered window well Bella could see his intent golden gaze on her.

She instantly missed the contact with him. Without thinking, she shifted over to him on her stomach, her shoulders pressed against his arm.

"I think we just survived a tornado," she said, still in shock at what just occurred. Her mind was only just starting to process it.

Edward chuckled softly. "We did." To her surprise, he tightened his arm around her and pulled her partially on top of him. She stiffened. His body felt as hard and cold as the concrete floor they were laying on, but to Bella it felt like home, and she relaxed against him.

When he didn't say anything more, she looked up and saw him staring at the ceiling, a pained expression on his face. Immediately she tried to pull away from him, but he didn't let her.

"What is it, Edward?" She'd seen that expression before, and what it meant. He needed to be talked down from being too involved in others' thoughts. She could only begin to imagine what he must be hearing right now.

"Hey, Superman." She fought hard for a light-hearted tone. Bella took his face in both of her hands, forcing him to look at her. "Don't you go drifting away now. I need you to help me come up with a plan."

"A plan?" Ah good, that distracted him.

"Yup. By the sound of that crash earlier, my mingy landlord _definitely_ won't give me my security deposit back. I may need to hack into his checking account."

A reluctant smile tugged at the corners of Edward's mouth. "The idea of you committing a criminal act is absolutely absurd."

"See? It's perfect! He'll never suspect me."

Bella watched with relief as her friend's gentle smile emerged like hazy sunshine coming out from behind a cloud. He gently ran the back of his index finger down her cheek. It felt cold, but she anticipated that. What she didn't expect was the trail of fire it seemed to leave behind. She'd never been this close, physically, to him before. Edward was usually very careful about his personal space, and didn't seem to like being touched.

"I almost lost you today," he murmured. "Twice."

Bella sucked in her breath. "That would have been so bad?"

"Unbearable." There was so much pain in his normally smooth voice. On instinct she reached up and pulled his face to hers.

"Well, you didn't. You still have to put up with my irritating self for a while longer."

"Bella…" he practically growled.

He was so close, his full, perfectly-shaped mouth only inches from hers. _Move away_, her logical self scolded. _He doesn't want you like that. You'll only make a fool of yourself._ Her emotional self, on the other hand, was ordering Logical Self to shut the hell up.

"Under extreme emotional circumstances like these, we're not responsible for our actions, right?" Bella whispered, moving slightly closer.

"Right," agreed Edward very softly. He seemed to be holding his breath.

Bella closed the distance between them and pressed her lips to his. They were cool and firm, like the rest of him. At first he didn't move, and Bella, feeling like an idiot, made to pull away. Instantly his arms came around her, pulling her up further as he returned her kiss with an intensity she didn't expect. His tongue teased her lips until she opened her mouth to allow him access. Fire spread through her body, and she moaned against his mouth.

Eventually she was forced to pull back to breathe. They both lay, panting, staring at each other.

"Oh my God," Bella murmured, suddenly realizing what she'd done. She'd seduced Edward. Her friend. "Edward, I shouldn't have…you don't want…I mean…oh God…" She buried her face against his shoulder. He still wasn't letting her pull away from him.

"Bella love, look at me." He gently lifted her face. "I do want, and I'm glad you did…we did. I've been wanting to do that for ages."

"Really?"

He smiled widely. "Really."

For a while they lay there, grinning stupidly at each other, both basking in their new-found harmony.

"I suppose we'd better go upstairs and see what's happened," Bella sighed. Somehow, she'd almost forgotten the tornado.

Edward reluctantly agreed. "Be prepared," he warned. "It's bad."

The first thing Bella saw was shattered glass everywhere. The blinds on the kitchen window had literally been ripped off the wall. The window itself was blocked by a wall of pine branches. _What the heck?_ She grasped Edward's hand tightly and dodge debris in the way to what was left of her bedroom. An enormous pine has blown over and crashed through the roof and ceiling.

"Holy crow," she whispered.

Edward was frowning anxiously. "Bella, which one of your neighbors has an infant daughter?"

"The Hoxworths, two houses down that way." She pointed. "Shannon and Andrew both work, and so she picks up her daughter from daycare…' A feeling of horror washed over her. The tornado hit around rush hour. They would have just been getting home…

"I'm going to need your help," Edward declared rapidly, already opening the door. "The house was almost leveled, and they're trapped."

"Please Bella," he begged as they ran. "You've handled finding out about my strangeness so well up to now. I need you to stay with me, at least until this is over."

She nodded. His "strangeness" didn't matter to her, especially not right now.

Some people were walking dazedly along the street, weaving their way through downed trees, damaged cars, and pieces of homes. The hazing sun glinted eerily off the wet pavement and the devastation surrounding them.

No one was near what remained of the Hoxworth's white brick home. "Be careful," he warned her as they picked their way around, searching for a way through the rubble. "This is likely to collapse."

Bella strained her ears, and thought she heard a baby crying. "That's Annabelle."

Edward nodded. "Shannon and Annabelle are trapped under the basement stairs." He cast an expert eye over the pieces of wall and roof strewn on top of the foundation. It looked like the Hoxworth's car had been thrown a couple of houses down. Without a word, her friend began hauling enormous pieces of roof away, eventually revealing the basement. Bella watched him leap down into the gaping darkness and disappear. She could hear him pulling away what she assumed were pieces of trunking and drywall.

"Please be careful, Edward," she pleaded, knowing he could hear her.

A couple of minutes later she saw him below her, carrying a screaming infant. Somehow he managed to jump up next to Bella, handing her little Annabelle. His wild reddish-brown hair was covered in white drywall dust.

"She's OK, just frightened. Shannon is heavily bruised and scratched, but otherwise alright. I'm getting her."

He disappeared down the hole to the basement again, while Bella did her best to soothe the baby. She heard the sound of tearing sheet metal, and moments later Edward appeared by her side carrying a young, frightened woman with long blonde hair.

"Andrew…" she choked out. Edward frowned as he sat Shannon carefully on the grass.

"Was he home?" Edward asked gently.

Shannon nodded tearfully.

Bella and Edward exchanged grim looks. Clearly Edward couldn't hear Andrew's mind. Still, he leapt down into the basement again, trying to find Shannon's husband based on her thoughts of where he was last.

"Bella!" he called up to her after a while. "Can you help me, please?"

She assured Shannon that should would be right back, and let Edward lift her into the dark basement.

"I can hear Andrew's heartbeat," he told her quietly. "He's unconscious, probably pinned under one of the I-beams. Shannon remembered that he was at the top of the basement stairs when the tornado hit."

Bella could barely see anything, stumbling beside Edward as he held onto her arm. "I've cleared some of the debris," he told her, "But I need you to hold him while I free him from the wall and beam. Can you do that?"

"Yes." She wasn't sure if he could see her nodding in the dark. She could vaguely make out Andrew's inert form, hanging out at an odd angle from the debris. Edward guided her hands where he wanted her to hold Andrew.

"Ready? On the count of three. One, two, THREE!" He grunted with exertion, and Bella heard the sound of the I-beam being bent and lifted. Andrew was no light-weight, so Bella had to use her body to keep him propped up as Edward extracted him. Soon the weight was gone when Edward took over.

"What now?" Bella asked. "Should we move him?"

"No," Edward gritted. It sounded like he was trying to hold his breath. "Internal bleeding, crushed legs. Can you call 911 and stay here while I clear the road for the ambulance?"

She really didn't have a choice. At her assent, Edward disappeared in a gust of air. Bella made the 911 call, grateful that the cell tower was still active, and waited. It seemed like hours that Edward was gone, so she spoke soothingly to the unconscious Andrew in an effort to keep herself calm. Thankfully, his breathing remained stable, and she kept her finger on his pulse, monitoring his heart rate.

Bella thought of Edward, probably dragging enormous trees out of the roadways. Provided no one saw him.

Eventually she heard the welcome sound of several ambulances and fire trucks. At least one was driving up her street, stopping right outside where the Hoxworth's house once stood. Soon there were voices – lots of them. She could hear Shannon talking with someone, and more people setting up a ladder and entering the basement.

"They're over here!" one of the firemen shouted, flashing his strobe light around the basement. Soon the entire area was illuminated, and Andrew was being strapped to a stretcher and given oxygen.

"They're taking all three of them to the hospital," a beloved voice breathed into her ear. Bella whirled around.

"How did you get here? I didn't even hear you!"

"It's not my fault that you're unobservant," teased Edward. "Seriously, I'm surprised. You normally miss nothing…unfortunately."

Bella impulsively hugged her friend. Was he still her friend?

"Come on," he said gently, disengaging her arms. "Let's get out of here."

They walked further down Bella's street in silence, holding hands. Edward, she knew, was listening for the thoughts of trapped and injured individuals, as well as using his heightened senses to detect heartbeats and scan for casualties. Pain flitted across his face. She suspected that he needed the comfort of her hand in his even more that she did.

Although most of the homes in her subdivision sustained major damage, it looked as if her other neighbours made it through relatively unscathed. They were all out, talking, assessing, finding precious belongings in the debris, and assisting each other. Bella and Edward stopped every so often to help someone move some heavy object, or check to see if families were alright. One elderly lady hugged both of them gratefully after Edward and another man lifted a section of wall off her car. At first Edward look astonished at the gesture, then hugged her back warmly.

"You have a very nice young man there, dear," the small, grey-haired lady informed her with a twinkle. "Handsome, too. He's a keeper."

Bella blushed, exchanging glances with Edward.

Walking back to Bella's house—_at human speed_, she mentally added – she wondered at how much her life had changed in just a few hours. A memory niggled at the back of her mind. Something her mother had mentioned during her exploration of Far Eastern mythology and folklore. For some reason, "rakshasa" was ringing a bell.

"Are you still willing to go to my apartment?" Edward asked. "The hotels are bound to be full, but I'm certain we can find somewhere for you to stay. Or you can stay there, and I'll go somewhere else."

_Uh-oh_. He didn't want her? He was regretting what happened?

"No!" he said quickly. _Drat, she must have said that out loud. Big mouth_.

He sighed. They were inside her garage now, standing between his shiny silver Volvo and her faded red Chevy pick-up. When he spoke again his voice sounded heartbreakingly vulnerable. "I do want you, but I'm afraid that when you find out more about me, you'll run away screaming. I wouldn't try to stop you, either. I'm not good for you."

His nearness wasn't helping her thought processes.

"You're dazzling me again," she accused. "Give me a moment, please." He looked pained in response.

Bella was still trying to recall what a "rakshasa" was. Somehow she knew that this was the key. She turned from him, staring at the floor as she paced between the vehicles.

"You're not good for me?"

"No."

"I don't believe it."

"Believe it." His tone was flat, almost hopeless.

"Bitten by a radioactive spider? Exposed to some strange toxin? From another planet?"

"I'm not a superhero, Bella. And I was born in Chicago."

"Are you human?"

Edward sucked in a sharp breath. "No."

Bella's dark eyes snapped to his. She'd never seen such anguish in them before.

"Something more than human? Angel?" He certainly looked he could be one.

"Something less than human. Quite the opposite of angel. Bella, I can't tell you directly what I am. There are those like me who would kill us both. When I first met you, I almost killed you myself."

Bella's mind worked furiously, sifting through possibilities. Some sort of demon? They had been friends for almost five years. He'd saved her life twice today, as well as the lives of her neighbors and probably several others. He couldn't be a demon. The more she thought about it, the more she realized…

"It doesn't matter."

For once she'd truly taken him by surprise. "It doesn't _matter_?"

"No," Bella responded firmly. "It doesn't matter what you are. You are Edward, one of my dearest friends and the man I…" _Whoops, not the time to let that slip, Swan_.

He wasn't about to let her get away with that one. "The man you…?"

Bella's face turned bright red, and she refused to look at him. _Come up with a plausible answer_, she urged herself. _Fast!_

Edward stepped toward her slowly, almost as if he were afraid of frightening her. "I'm not being fair to you, am I? I'm asking you to completely open up to me when I'm not being forthcoming with you." He paused, trying to gauge her reaction. "Your heart is racing. I can't read your mind, so I don't know if it is because you're scared of me, or just afraid of being rejected. Would it help if I told you what I hope you meant to say?"

She nodded, rooted to the spot, watching him.

"The selfish side of me hopes that you meant, 'the man I love.' On the other hand, the side of me that loves you is terrified that you may feel that way." He swallowed convulsively.

Bella took her courage in both hands. Edward wasn't exaggerating; she could see it in his beautiful face. She took the final step forward and grasped his forearms. Like the rest of him, they felt cold and hard. The man…or whatever he was…in front of her flinched slightly but didn't move away. She slid her fingers down his arms until she clasped his hands.

"That's what I meant," she responded softly. She was trembling. Edward said that he loved her. She smiled, hardly able to believe it was true. Edward wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against him. She laid her head against his chest and closed her eyes, letting it wash over her.

Bella heard his breath moving in and out of his lungs, and slowly her heart and breathing calmed. _Wait, where's his heartbeat?_ She listened more carefully, pressing her ear against his chest. Nothing. She glanced up at him questioningly.

"You won't find it," he informed her. He'd stiffened in her arms, expecting her to pull away. But she stayed put.

Laying against him, several facts began to gel in her mind. Edward was telepathic. He never ate in front of her. His eyes changed color, and his body was hard. His skin was always extraordinarily pale, and cold. No, not cold. Room temperature – the temperature of the environment. Was he cold-blooded? He had no heartbeat. In fact, he was like a breathing, walking corpse. A corpse with supernatural strength, speed, and senses. He was a zombie?

Edward had already dropped his arms. This time Bella released him and stepped back to look at her friend properly. He stared at her, the pained expression back in his eyes.

No, not a zombie. Edward's eyes were expressive and alive. Then she remembered. _Rakshasa_. In Hindu mythology, a superior race of humanoid, shape-shifting demons, also known as …

'Edward, what do you eat?"

He tensed further, if that were possible. "I'm on a liquid diet," he responded warily. "You figured it out, didn't you?"

She nodded. "I think so. So did Manoj?"

Edward smiled wryly. "Hindus are generally closer to their legends and folklore than you are in the West. So what is your conclusion?"

"Vampire. You are a vampire."

He neither denied nor confirmed this, which led Bella to believe that she'd guessed correctly.

"Then why aren't you running away?"

Bella managed to shrug nonchalantly. "What's the point? You'd catch me anyway. Besides, if you wanted to harm me you would have done so already."

"I would let you go," he promised. "If you wanted to. You would never see me again. In fact, that's probably the best choice for you."

Bella moved closer to him, backing him against the side of the Volvo. "I'm not running, Edward."

Unable to help himself, Edward gently grasped her bare upper arms, stroking them with his thumbs. "You don't understand. I am an immortal undead demon of the night who wants to drink your blood – badly. I won't do it, because the thought of losing you forever is…" He swallowed again, his grip tightening slightly. "My family and I are strange, even for vampires. We drink only the blood of animals. We try very hard to be more human…sometimes we slip."

"You want to drink my blood?"

Edward immediately released her, although he was unable to step back with his car behind him. He refused to look at her. "Yes, although over time I have become mostly desensitized to it."

_Well, thank goodness for that_. "Edward, meant what you said? You love me?"

His eyes shot up to meet hers. "Yes."

She pressed herself against him, running her hands down his sides to his lean hips. "And you want me? Not my blood, but…me?" Her hands wandered forward, and Edward let out a soft hiss.

"I'm still a man, Bella," he managed to say. His eyes were rapidly darkening.

"Good." Wondering idly where all this bravado came was coming from, she immediately decided it wasn't important and reached up to kiss the firm mouth hovering just above her own. His reaction was instantaneous. Before she knew what was happening, she found herself with her back to her truck, Edward's hard body pinning her there as his mouth plundered hers. She clung to him, fire coursing through her body. This need was nothing like she'd experienced before. When she pulled away for air, he kissed her jaw, down her neck, making her shiver.

"Are you alright?" he asked, stopping to look at Bella's flushed face and glowing brown eyes. His own eyes now glittered like black onyx.

"No," she whispered. "I want you closer."

His low growl went straight to her core. Bella lifted her legs and hooked them around his hips. In response, he rocked against her, eliciting an embarrassing moan that she couldn't suppress.

"Bella," he whispered roughly. He moved away slightly.. "We shouldn't be doing this. You deserve…" He gasped when she grabbed his hips and pulled him against her. "Let's at least get to my apartment."

Just then, Bella's cell phone rang. Edward chuckled at her muffled curse. "I'm going to kill Ricardo."

"He's probably checking to make sure we're alright."

"I was better before he called," she grumbled. Edward carefully helped her stand, and she picked up her phone.

"Hi Ricardo," she said, forcing her voice to sound friendly.

"It's Manoj. Ricardo just stepped out to see what's happening. Are you two OK?"

Bella activated the speaker phone. "We're fine, Manu," Edward answered for her. "There's a tree in Bella's bedroom, but otherwise essentially unscathed."

"Edward managed to rescue my neighbours," added Bella. "He lifted a house off of them."

"He…" Manoj's voice sounded faint. "Edward, she knows…?"

"Yes, she does, and by some miracle it doesn't matter to her. She loves me anyway."

"WHAT? You mean that you two…?"

"We were," Bella told him grumpily, "Until you interrupted, that is."

There was a joyful whoop through the microphone. "It's about time, woman!" Bella glared at Edward, who was unsuccessfully trying to contain his laughter.

"Well, if that's the case, I'll hang up and leave you to it."

"Bye, Manu!"

Bella clicked off the phone and put it down, allowing Edward to catch her 'round the waist and pull her toward him. "So, Miss Swan," he teased, "Where were we?"

She melted against him. She knew that her and Edward's relationship wouldn't be easy, even without the vampire aspect added in. Five years of friendship taught her that he could be overprotective, sometimes overbearing, and always stubborn. Of course, she was even more obstinate. They had a lot of adjusting to do. However, here in his arms, she knew that somehow they would make it work.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Well, that's it! Please review. If I did another POV, whose should I choose - Edward's or Manoj's? <strong>_


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